On Meet the Press for February 13th Pat Buchanan debated former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky on U.S. policy in the Middle East.

The moderator was the unctous Tim Russert who sat passively as Patsy uttered his Churchillian–as in Ward–analysis of the events of 911.

Here’s a Buchanan sampler:

After a brief exhange between the two, Russert asked Buchanan to respond.

Russert: Prescription for endless war?

Buchanan: In my judgement what happened on 9/11 was a result of (US) interventionism. Interventionism is the CAUSE (MY CAPS) It is not a cure for terror.”

Russert: The president said that on September 11th, “freedom came under attack.”

Buchanan: “The president of the United States was profoundly mistaken. He has misdiagnosed the malady. He has misdiagnosed the REASON FOR THE ATTACK (my caps) Tim.

“The United States was not attacked because we are free. Bin Laden was not attacking the Bill of Rights. We were attacked because the U.S. military and political presence is massive over there. Bin Laden in his fatwah, his statement of declaration of war on the U.S> said the infidels were standing on sacred soil of Saudi Arabia. They want us out of the Middle East. They don’t care whether we have seperation of church and state.”

So, to borrow the title of Bill (Casino Royale) Bennett’s silly book, “Where’s the Outrage?”